Onions are highly nutritious, so why is it so hard to find flavorful organic onions?
A note from the editor:
"Hoeing grain under the midday sun, sweat drips into the soil beneath the grain. Who knows that the meal in the bowl, every single grain is hard work." This Tang dynasty poem, one that even elementary school students can recite fluently, describes not only the heartfelt feelings of rice farmers, but also a portrait of every small farmer's life. Yet compared with conventional agriculture, organic and natural farming methods are even more arduous, just as the movie "Cast Away on the Moon" says, 'This is the resolve of going to war'...
Take onions for example: onions are fat-free, cholesterol-free, and low in sodium, and their nutritional value is extremely high, even earning the reputation of "queen of vegetables." You have surely enjoyed the wonderful dishes that onions bring, but have you ever tasted the flavor of organic onions? Is it the bitter resolve of going to war, or the rare pungent taste of sweat and heart's blood? Now, let the team of "Green Farmers' Home", which established "Rainbow Farm" in Sichongxi on the Hengchun Peninsula and has tried organic onion farming for four years, tell you!
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Text and photos / Green Farmers' Home, Liu Zhewei
Everyone knows onions are good, but the flavor of organic onions is rare. Why do we say this?
The Hengchun Peninsula is the largest onion-producing area in the country, planting about 500 to 600 hectares of onions each year. When the falling mountain wind begins to visit the peninsula in mid-to-late October each year, that is the onion planting season; the growing period is four to five months, and harvesting continues through March of the following year. Onions need water to grow, but prolonged moisture easily causes rot. In winter the Hengchun Peninsula is dry and short of rain, so farmers can only irrigate to moisten the soil and provide the water the onion seedlings need during their growing period; at the same time, the blowing of the falling mountain wind happens to speed up the evaporation of excess water from the fields, making the Hengchun area the most suitable place in the country for onion cultivation.
↑March 30, 2013, Rainbow Farm opened an onion harvest experience tour
Every year at the end of March and the beginning of April, when the falling mountain wind rests and the south wind rises, it is the onion harvest season on the Hengchun Peninsula. This year, Rainbow Farm estimates that April 5, around Qingming (Tomb-Sweeping Day), is the best harvest time. However, the beginning of April every year coincides with the drizzly spring rains; if the harvest cannot be completed before the rainy season arrives, these onions that grew with such hardship may well be soaked and rotted by the rain, causing serious losses.
Therefore, the farm urgently needs a large amount of manpower to help with the harvest. During 4/4 to 4/14, it opens work-exchange-for-stay; besides free accommodation and three meals, there are hot springs at night, stargazing, and the beautiful farm scenery and fresh air, all priceless!Around Qingming, come to Rainbow Farm in Sichongxi to "pull onions" for a holiday~
◎"Don't fear too many hands, only fear rain rot!"Green Farmers' Home - Rainbow Farm work-exchange-for-stay plan
Dates:2014.04.04 (Fri) - 2014.04.14 (Mon)
Location:Sichongxi, Hengchun, Pingtung, Rainbow Farm
Work content:Onion harvest and shipping has six procedures in total, to be completed within 10 days: harvest onions → sun-dry onions → remove leaves and roots from head and tail → grade → box → ship. Daily working hours are about 6-8 hours; free accommodation and three meals are provided; at night hot springs and stargazing, in the daytime beautiful farm scenery and fresh air, all priceless!
Event info:Rainbow Farm work-exchange-for-stay
※A thoughtful reminder
4/5 (Sat) and 4/6 (Sun) are farm open days; families are also welcome to join the harvest~
The harvest work may be a bit hot and make you sweat a little; please be sure to assess your own physical condition.
Original text from >>17support
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